4/20/26.
Poor Performer (Teddington, England...suburb of London) is Simon Rivers' project that rose following the end of The Bitter Springs - a band described as being "brilliantly comedic", and having "literate pop songs and oddball experimental forays." I'll be diving into The Bitter Springs catalogue soon.
Poor Performer has beautifully written, melodic pop songs with a crooner vocal sound. The melodies track closer to John Southworth than to the normal list of crooners I peddle: Maxwell Farrington, Matthew Edwards, The Divine Comedy or solo Edwyn Collins.
Simon Rivers (and many of his bandmates in The Bitter Spring) basically served as Vic Godard's backing back - the Subway Sect - in its later incarnations.
"LIke Yer Wounds Too" came out in 2022, but Poor Performer has a brand new album - "Awash With the Poor Performer" - due in early June 2026. Both albums are released by Tiny Global Productions.
